My Festive Beauty Gift Guide

Recently, I wrote a little tweet on Twitter (obviously) ranting about all the gift guides this year and lots of you agreed with me. I was basically saying that I was sick of seeing gift guides that were full of tat from around the house that they’d clearly half-arsed found to bulk out a post, or were just PR samples. I also said that some people have gone overboard with gift guides and I don’t need to see ten from one person, this year it almost feels like a competition to have the most and the best gift guides. Well, I decided not to give into the pressure and just wanted to create one beauty gift guide as I always do. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that there are a few PR sent items in here, but they’re from brands I specifically contacted for this post because I love their products and I’ve decided not to use affiliate links. The rest of the products are all makeup that I’ve tried, tested and loved over the years. So there’s my disclaimer. Enjoy the gift guide!

Birchbox Gift SubscriptionI know I’m totally biased throwing this in here as I do work for Birchbox, but honestly, having a subscription from them has made me so happy this last couple of months, it’s the nicest treat to myself that arrives through the post. The boxes themselves are just gorgeous and I’m making some little storage units from them and the products inside are all from really great brands and is stuff I’ll actually use. I’m definitely going to be gifting someone I know (no spoilers) a subscription this year and you can arrange for the first box to be sent to you so that you can still wrap it up and give it in person if you want to.

Butter LONDON The Gold Standard Gift SetNot all of my female friends and family love makeup like I do, I can understand that. However, all of them appreciate a good old nail polish set and this one from Butter London is just gorgeous. The shades themselves are really neutral (bar the gold) so can be worn all year round and the gold just adds that special splash to it to make it a little different and interesting. I absolutely love the formula of Butter London nail polishes and think they’re a premium enough brand to make this an extra special gift.

Gucci In Bloom PerfumeNow I actually picked this up on my flight back from Tenerife, thanks Easyjet, as I had some leftover euros and loved the packaging. When in Tenerife I hunted out a perfume shop and gave it a whiff and fell in love with the scent too – luckily. In Bloom is a really new fragrance and I can see it becoming such a hit as it smells divine. It’s quite a floral scent as the name would suggest but it’s also quite modern. Fragrance shopping for other people is always difficult but I can see everyone in all age ranges loving this. If you haven’t already be sure to check it out.

Luxury LipsticksI have gifted many friends and family lipsticks over the year as most people I know tend to only have high street lipsticks in their collection. Whilst I love high street lipsticks, as you probably know, I think there’s something really special about having a high-end lipstick and they make for a good gift as most people wouldn’t treat themselves as extravagantly as buying a 30 pound lipstick. My favourite ones to really wow people are the YSL Rouge Voluptes. My sister got me my first one and I remember that ‘wow’ feeling as I opened it as these are still some of the most beautifully designed lipsticks out there. They’re also sheer so nice and easy to wear. I also love the Hourglass Lip Stylos as they feel so premium and have a really large selection of wearable shades. The NARS Lipglosses are also my favourite gloss formulas and may suit people who don’t wear lipsticks so much.

Benefit Bronzer and Blusher BoxesI think when you’re caught up in the blogging and beauty industries it’s very easy to forget what makeup looks to “outsiders”. So many people I know are always fascinated by Benefit’s packaging and whilst I still love their packaging, it’s something I don’t appreciate anymore. The quirky designs impress people a lot more than the simplicity of say Charlotte Tilbury’s rose gold. Some of the most iconic Benefit products are their blusher and bronzer boxes and I think they make such nice gifts. They have loads to choose from nowadays and you can’t go too far wrong with a pretty blush!

Korres Gift SetsKorres is a brand that I’ve worked with a lot over the years and they were the first I approached about gift sets for this gift guide. I had a gift set from them a while ago that was a holiday-themed one and I just loved it so I wanted to see what they had for Christmas. They kindly sent me their Oh Little Stars set which has four shower and body milk miniatures and their King of Korres set which has three full-sized shower gels. I love the scents of bath and body products from Korres and I think they make a fairly safe bet for a gift. I find skincare gift sets a bit risky sometimes but you can’t go wrong with bath and body!

An Eyeshadow PaletteAs well as blushers and lipsticks, eyeshadow palettes make for great presents even if someone isn’t really that into makeup. I think the original Naked palettes are a safe bet as for a lot of people this will be their first high end eyeshadow palette and the shades in all three of them are so wearable and pretty. If you’re on more of a budget I absolutely love the Makeup Revolution My Sign palettes. It’s a really cute idea as you can pick a palette according to their zodiac sign so mine is the Fire one as I’m an Aries and actually Fire was my favourite palette anyway! It’s a cute nod to personalised gift while still being practical

There we go, I really hope you liked my gift guide this year and got some ideas. These are honestly some of my favourite gift ideas and ones I’ve used in previous years and will be gifting this year. Do let me know in the comments your best beauty gift ideas!